Democratization of sleuthing, thanks to the Internet, has brought more than inexperience to the real life genre of true crime. Web surfing and keyboards have placed the eager citizen on a direct line to the FBI, District Attorneys, and official cold case investigators. It is not just a direct line, it is a line that caries spontaneous and often unrefined thoughts on a case and suspect. Social media helps to reinforce stereotypes and false impressions. They take on a life of their own and they continue to get recycled and become true. The spontaneous, as the word implies, aren’t the type to have been tempered by protracted and careful research. The web launches forth their ideas to us all instantly.

The social media influence is particularly strong today in the East Area Rapist case, so relevant that I wanted to title this post EAR/ONS and The Russian Meddling because social media is the conduit enforcing a particular image to EAR. But let’s stick with the purpose here, which frankly is to caution everybody on the false impression that EAR was young and blond and therewith the numerous sketches of such a young man seen in a neighborhood before-the-fact represent the actual perp. As such becoming excited over an old yearbook photo that shows a young blond guy with a slight resemblance to an old police sketch is no grounds for believing he is the best suspect for the notorious EAR merely by looks, age, and then by elaborate spinning in a mill of suspicion.

The East Area Rapist/Original Night Stalker/Night Predator was never seen in perpetration except once at a difficult angle, face distorted by a balaclava pulled back, and then only recalled through hypnosis. The collective testimony of victims is divided between a man in his early 20s to one in his mid 30s. In perpetration his hair was seen only twice– it was dark brown for the most part. In perpetration his nose was described as Roman (though a tight stocking was over his face), his neck as short, his eyes as hazel, brown, once as blue. His height varied but he was below 6 foot.

Surely because all this is so slim one has to take it cautiously. There is no one description that clinches this phantom’s features. There is no single sketch that is the gold standard. If you wish to truly investigate and temper yourself as a true investigator, you must draw a picture of the perp from the clues, not a single clue, a single surmise, a single and unsubstantiated image.

The purpose here is to discourage people from browsing Classmates with its thousands of old yearbooks and picking someone based merely on their old senior photo resemblance to a sketch attributed to EAR. Again, EAR was never seen and there is no real justification to believe he was young. (He may have been, and indeed I have dipped as low as 16 in the suspicion meter, but I was able to eliminate them all and the one I couldn’t was eliminated via DNA.)

The upshot is that unless you have more than a superficial resemblance you have no justification for suspecting some teen from 40 years ago. Such pictures can be powerful, but they must be tempered by investigation. One of my POIs’ senior picture was especially “creepy,” to more than just me and a few cops. As I continued my investigation it became clear that the guy could have been in a position to pull off the crime spree. I had to visit his old neighborhood with a retired police chaplain and speak with his old neighbors. Needless to say he was weird. It was only then, with the submission of a full dossier, that official investigators looked into him more deeply.

It is a fascinating story I’d love to talk about in detail, but he is a living person and due to other factors not very likely anymore to be EAR/ONS– though in general he could be made to excite a lot of interest on the web. He is, sadly, just one of thousands who easily creep out a person. If everyone who had been suspected of being EAR had a frenzied week devoted to them on social media the audience would quickly realize how many can be made to fit and as a result there is little reason to get too dogmatic or excited over another young blond guy.

But remember, it is the process of elimination, not the process of proclamation. A few get out on the web and excite a lot of interest, but measured within the POI list of thousands there is nothing particularly worthy of proclamation about them.

I have forwarded about a dozen people to the FBI, who wanted to turn in their own POI. I have submitted 3 of my own to a DA’s office special cold case unit. I know that about 6 to 7 hundred POIs have been DNA tested. There has been between 6 to 7 thousand POIs. A superficial resemblance isn’t uncommon. It is no excuse to get excited and think one now has to have EAR by the tail. And remember it may be a superficial likeness to a sketch of bogus. If you have a POI, fine. Confide in a few, seek the help of some others, but the process must largely play on behind closed doors.

In the next post I will address why I had to go public once with the initials of a dead POI, without pictures but with a detailed thesis.

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Since 1990 Gian J. Quasar has investigated a broad range of mysterious subjects, from strange disappearances to serial murders, earning in that time the unique distinction of being likened to “the real life Kolchak.” However, he is much more at home with being called The Quester or Q Man. “He’s bloody eccentric, an historian with no qualifications who sticks his nose into affairs and gets results.” He is the author of several books, one of which inspired a Resolution in Congress.

Just a brief blog post to help illustrate the most recent arguments regarding the mysterious young man seen at the now-defunct American River Hospital on May 30, 1977. As one article recently reasoned, he is likely to have been EAR because no one could jump this fence (wall was not there) and deep canal and not be injured doing so. There is no claim that there is evidence EAR was injured. This canal is along Uranus which is the cross street of 4th Parkway, where the A family was hit on May 28, 1977. Highway 99 is on the other side of the wall. These pictures were taken on March 23, 2014.

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Since 1990 Gian J. Quasar has investigated a broad range of mysterious subjects, from strange disappearances to serial murders, earning in that time the unique distinction of being likened to “the real life Kolchak.” However, he is much more at home with being called The Quester or Q Man. “He’s bloody eccentric, an historian with no qualifications who sticks his nose into affairs and gets results.” He is the author of several books, one of which inspired a Resolution in Congress.

Amongst informed users there is no difference in the two points above. However, to most people “Rule of Law” has come to mean enforcing blindly some statute on the books. “Rule of Law” actually carries no such meaning.

Martin Luther King had to warn listeners “Remember, everything they did in Nazi Germany was legal.”

He was truly speaking to those who take the “Rule of Law” as meaning justifying anything authority does. It is one of the worst perversions of the intended meaning. If “Rule of Law” meant what most people think it means, then indeed the Nazis could do no wrong.

But “Rule of Law” actually means following the principles of law. Technically, some may not sound like law but they are rigorously enforced in the legal system of a civilized society. Their purpose is to ensure justice.

One such principle applies to the above example of Nazi Germany. While being tried in the docks at Nuremburg, Alfred Rosenberg was stupid enough to admit what they had done, but he added (and then showed them) where they had made it legal. The Lord Justice presiding reminded him of the principle: “You cannot plead as justification for your behavior laws which you yourself have made.” And they hung him.

Common sense really.

Most of the principles, if not all, are dependent on logic with the purpose of facilitating justice.

The Rules of Circumstantial Evidence are a case in point. “You can only make one inference from a set of circumstances that can be established as fact.”

Another: “Innocent until proven guilty.”

Another that has sadly been set aside. “The right to face your accuser.” People don’t like being accused. It is human nature. People don’t like being falsely accused even more. Someone might be a little more careful in accusing someone rashly if they knew they had to face the one they accused.

The ability for an attorney to object in court is actually limited to anything that is irrelevant or introduced improperly.

In your day to day life common sense, embodied in all of the above (only a small sampling of the principles of law), is supposed to dictate your behavior. All of the above are really just common sense. None, however, are truly laws that bind your daily actions, are they? The difference with law is that these principles are enforced in court.

You always want the “rule of the principles of law.”

The principles above are largely for processing. Constitutions, on the other hand, are another form of how principles are put in place that limit the creation of statutory laws.

Most perversion of justice is actually not found in bad statutory laws. It is perverting the application of the “rule of law.”

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Since 1990 Gian J. Quasar has investigated a broad range of mysterious subjects, from strange disappearances to serial murders, earning in that time the unique distinction of being likened to “the real life Kolchak.” However, he is much more at home with being called The Quester or Q Man. “He’s bloody eccentric, an historian with no qualifications who sticks his nose into affairs and gets results.” He is the author of several books, one of which inspired a Resolution in Congress.

We all learn by experience and I like to share things. I know many thousands out there have a deep interest in the case of the East Area Rapist and they follow my postings. At a contrast to my desire to share and the purpose of my posts I have had to be cryptic at times, but it is necessary to protect the innocent and, just as important, those who investigate in officialdom. The largest part of the official investigation is cryptic. You don’t know the names of those involved. They don’t get the media attention, but they are ardently at work on the case. This is true in all the jurisdictions.

Those who follow Q Files know that I am trained in Logic and an adherent to the principles of the language it requires. Those who read my books note the same thing. I am studious to avoid the use of the first person pronoun. Logic does not accept personal opinion. It accepts conclusionary statements that are backed by the reasons given. My website and books are devoted to the product of my investigations. Not to me or my journey. Unfortunately, my blog is not. It is a world of extemporanea, and at times I have to say “I”. I have to hit the “nuke” instead of “nurse” button.

I have grown a great distaste for the EAR/ONS case, as some have made it publically evolve into a mirror of the cheap “suspect” driven True Crime books that advertise the final solution to a famous case on the dust jacket and inside the author has done no such thing. I dread that I may be looked upon in the same way. Not on my website but on here. Unfortunately on here I have to use the word “I”, though the case is not about me. The blog is about clarification. It is not about crowing. And because my language is so different on here than Q Files some think my clarifications are boasting or pretentious.

I thought the world of cheap TC could not happen with this case. After all, there is DNA that can be tested and no POI’s name need be released until the right villain is outed.

Apparently it cannot happen in book form, but out of nowhere several have come forward and turned social media into a circus of POI names and then have touted the grandeur of their own investigation or personal experience. Even after they have been told their POI was eliminated they continue to insist they are right.

Investigation and the process of elimination is actually far more exciting than any point of pride or personal gratification to say you can’t make mistakes. If one of your POIs is eliminated, move on to the next (if you have one). I always said I had a network of viable POIs. I threw the dart at the wrong one the first time out. He was eliminated.

I can only reassure you here that all of my case files are received within the task force, and that two more POIs are going through the process. I do not know the status. Nor have I inquired. From experience I know it takes months to get DNA results. And DNA from my first POI was rather easy to obtain. I don’t know how long it takes to get DNA from a living POI. I’m sure it varies whether it is done openly or stealthily. If you have someone within officialdom with whom you are persona grata, for God’s sake protect them and don’t become a burden.

The two POIs presented (since November 10, 2017) are going through the process. Neither I nor the innocent nor the official investigators who are following my dossiers need the grief of the wrong kind of public attention. Unlike them, however, I am stuck in a public position and feel a certain responsibility to keep you updated on the topic specifically and in general. Again, the word “I” has to be used sometimes.

I have gotten a lot of experience behind the scenes, and the reader should know about some of the things I have encountered, as they do bear on the perception of the case in some ways.

Some ironies need noting as well. The message boards were once the only outlet of information on a case that never should have been forgotten. With national popularity, they have become obscured, and with this one significant bit of their power: the moderators always blocked the nutcases who posted pictures and names of POIs.

Popularity has made any social media platform an outlet for those once kept in obscurity by the message board moderators. There is no limit to the pictures and names of living and dead that are posted. A few people out there have been told outright that their POIs have been eliminated. They couldn’t handle it. They continue to insist they are right. The difference now is they add expletives to the “LE” and then boasts that they will continue. Some post official investigators’ communications. Obviously, this is counter productive.

The investigation into the identity of EAR/ONS has been a strange one, one where from what I can tell the official investigators have had to battle their way into it and into the forefront of it. Yet out of necessity they cannot be too public on the matter. You hear only a few names. Dozens are involved.

Those few names have even been subjected to their financial statements being released and ridiculed by some “fans” of the case.

Being behind the scenes it is still a battle for them to become the focus of eliminating POIs. I don’t think any law enforcement service in history has seen such a huge case become forgotten, resurrected slowly by fans, and then had to battle their way into it.

I suspect that one of the reasons for the national news conference was the fact that officialdom had to push its way into the case very publically to start the stream of information flowing straight to them.

Please do not give way to “toxic fandom.” Remember the three step slide into toxicity: 1, I love this; 2, I own this; 3, I control this.

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Since 1990 Gian J. Quasar has investigated a broad range of mysterious subjects, from strange disappearances to serial murders, earning in that time the unique distinction of being likened to “the real life Kolchak.” However, he is much more at home with being called The Quester or Q Man. “He’s bloody eccentric, an historian with no qualifications who sticks his nose into affairs and gets results.” He is the author of several books, one of which inspired a Resolution in Congress.

Sadly, the True Crime genre is governed by an economic mentality, not by the true hunters who seek the elusive serial predators. If you look at Wikipedia (if you must) on the list of unidentified serial killers the individual articles are largely a quick hash of the crimes and then, if any, an equally slim overview of the original suspects. And it is stretching to call some of the latter “suspects.” There’s the True Crime genre in a nutshell.

For historical cases it is diabolic. Details are not preserved. Much has been lost. This is most poignantly felt in such cases as the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run in the 1930s. Jack the Ripper is well documented, but the Horrible Headhunter is not, and he is the closest thing America has to Jack the Ripper– he stalked the down-and-out and used them to experiment.

There is only one suspect in the rehash– crazy Dr. Sweeney, a man who frankly was not sober long enough to lift a dog’s tail let alone a scalpel. In the context of the crimes he would have been unable to perfect the precision seen in some of the victim’s dismemberment, especially in Andrassy. As such he’s a poor fit. But he got in the narrative and one point and that becomes the reality.

Dr. Sweeney holds his position because, it is said, Elliot Ness suspected him– brand name! The genre loves that! But, in truth, all we have is that Sweeney wrote to Ness for years from Happy Dale, the local madhouse. He taunted. He provoked, and sometimes he may have very subtly implied he was the butcher.

Experience teaches us that this is nothing. In the case of EAR/ONS, for instance, I have at least 2 correspondents who could make Freud sit up and blink. Their communication is nearly identical to mad Dr. Sweeney’s. They progress from the pitch they are going to cut me into the identity of the true criminal, to assertions they are the true genius who will out the man, then to insults, little jibes, and then the implication that they are the perp themselves. Snarky insults and degradations follow. The thrill of the poison pen pal has reached its ultimate level.

As you might imagine they have the IQ of shoe size, and despite their delusions of grandeur they have no originality.

Mad Dr. Sweeney’s inclusion as the prime suspect in the case of The Mad Butcher or Cleveland Torso Murders is a reflection of naivety of actually practicing investigation. They don’t understand how commonplace these generic madmen are. The anonymous nature of the internet only helps them spontaneously reach a wider audience. But they are paper doll cutouts of earlier loons like Sweeney.

But the point here, ultimately anyway, is that the most bizarre string of serial murders in the US remains poorly documented, and its anemic rehash follows the pattern of highlighting Sweeny rather than documenting the cases accurately first (in detail!) and then proceeding to investigate it.

So much more has to be done to find and release as much as possible relating to this Depression era case of a skilled, ghoulish figure of the night who prowled the down and out in the hobo villages of Kingsbury Run and experimented on them in horrid ways. He’s the true American Ripper, but time and formula has obscured him.

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Since 1990 Gian J. Quasar has investigated a broad range of mysterious subjects, from strange disappearances to serial murders, earning in that time the unique distinction of being likened to “the real life Kolchak.” However, he is much more at home with being called The Quester or Q Man. “He’s bloody eccentric, an historian with no qualifications who sticks his nose into affairs and gets results.” He is the author of several books, one of which inspired a Resolution in Congress.

With the uptick in media coverage of the EAR/ONS case Sacramento is finally getting involved and will hopefully take the lead. Fox40 Sacramento is doing a series, and so far in the couple of web articles I’ve read (by Ali Wolf) the moniker of Golden State Killer was only perfunctorily referred to, as a name he was later given. (In substance this isn’t entirely accurate. He was given this independently. It does not reflect popular or official usage during his crime spree. Nor does it come from any official agency. It apparently comes from an independent source in a podcast within only the last decade. )

It was a perfunctory acknowledgement the article, but one that hopefully indicates the moniker is being phased out. Up here, of course, he was The East Area Rapist; down south he really had no public handle because the murders were largely unconnected at the time. He was known as The Night Stalker by Orange County and Santa Barbara County, but sadly the press didn’t cover. Only the jurisdictions were noticing the similarities in the crimes.

When Richard Ramirez was inaccurately labeled with being The Night Stalker, EAR’s best handle had to be altered when used in public. Original Night Stalker doesn’t fly too well either, but when I spoke with members of the task force he is still referred to by some as just “Night Stalker” in order to differentiate between Ramirez.

In any case, the Ramirez mis-naming is a good example of how a very inaccurate name should be resisted. Golden State Killer, again, elevates EAR to a level of the State’s official nickname as if he was an officially endorsed product of the State. Obviously that would never fly in the State capitol.

The latest publicity, stemming from Sacramento, has been the best. Hopefully it sets the tempo for the rest of the national media, and with this that horrid moniker of GSK finally fades away. It may earn: “briefly known as” as a footnote on the case and then be gone.

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Since 1990 Gian J. Quasar has investigated a broad range of mysterious subjects, from strange disappearances to serial murders, earning in that time the unique distinction of being likened to “the real life Kolchak.” However, he is much more at home with being called The Quester or Q Man. “He’s bloody eccentric, an historian with no qualifications who sticks his nose into affairs and gets results.” He is the author of several books, one of which inspired a Resolution in Congress.

Well, as more publicists get involved the more we get curious news releases in the case of the EAR/ONS. The most recent dovetails on that most interesting of breaks in his patterns– the frenzied May of 1977 and then he’s gone during the summer of 1977. He returns in September, 30 minutes south of Sacramento in Stockton, California.

A man pops up at the American River Hospital on May 30– the last day of the month of frenzy– for treatment with a broken shoulder. Does this explain the strange lull during the summer of 1977? Or did EAR lay low locally with all the vigilantes on the loose? He was certainly scouting Stockton by August 1977.

We can’t let ourselves develop tunnel vision. All the clues must be interwoven. But this article is a powerful reminder that the search for EAR/ONS is not a typical cold case. It is very proactive.

Since 1990 Gian J. Quasar has investigated a broad range of mysterious subjects, from strange disappearances to serial murders, earning in that time the unique distinction of being likened to “the real life Kolchak.” However, he is much more at home with being called The Quester or Q Man. “He’s bloody eccentric, an historian with no qualifications who sticks his nose into affairs and gets results.” He is the author of several books, one of which inspired a Resolution in Congress.